Yankees won't play Frank Sinatra's 'New York, New York' song after losses anymore
Frank Sinatra at his concert at Nassau Coliseum on June 23, 1979. Credit: AP/Richard Drew
Start spreading the news: The Yankees are making another change to one of their long-held traditions.
Two days after the club announced an end to its longtime beard ban, the Yankees confirmed that they no longer will play Frank Sinatra’s iconic version of “New York, New York” after losses at Yankee Stadium.
The move will end the incongruous spectacle of Sinatra crooning a song associated with Yankees success while another team celebrates, as happened after the Dodgers clinched the World Series last Oct. 30 at Yankee Stadium.
The song — which is officially titled “Theme From New York, New York” — has been a Bronx staple since owner George Steinbrenner, in the late 1970s, first heard Sinatra’s version of the original Liza Minnelli tune at Le Club, a trendy Manhattan nightspot, according to a 2021 MLB.com article.
Steinbrenner then had a recording of Sinatra’s version played over the loudspeaker at an empty Yankee Stadium. The Boss loved it so much that he sent a letter to representatives of the “Chairman of the Board” (Sinatra shared that nickname with Yankees Hall of Fame lefthander Whitey Ford) asking if the Yankees could use the song.
“Sinatra wrote back and said that he would be very pleased to have the song played at the stadium,” John Fugazy, the Yankees’ marketing director of that era, told The New York Times in 1980. “After one game, I noticed people were standing in the aisles at their seats listening or singing to the song. And this was after the team lost. The song makes you feel like you’ll win tomorrow, anyway.”
But no more. After defeats, the Yankees are planning to play a rotation of songs. On Sunday, after a spring training loss at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the Yankees played “That’s Life” by Sinatra.
The Yankees briefly experimented with playing Minnelli’s version after defeats. They also at times played a Sinatra/Tony Bennett duet of the song, according to MLB.com.
Sinatra, who was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, was a Giants fan who switched his allegiance to the Dodgers after they moved to Los Angeles. He was close friends with former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
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